psws worried about health, work permits

monique langlois has been spending most of her off hours in a camper parked in her driveway.a personal support worker (psw) at a long-term care (ltc) home in windsor, ont., she’s used to dealing with influenza, and the precautions necessary to protect her vulnerable patients. “but it has never been (a situation) where an entire building could be in danger,” she says.she’s right to be worried. at least 600 residences have staff and patients have been infected — and ltc homes account for about half of the over one thousand recorded deaths in the country, according to canada’s chief public health officer dr. theresa tam.while elderly patients are particularly vulnerable, their caregivers are also falling ill at alarming rates. this week in quebec revealed that about 70 per cent of the province’s covid-19 deaths have been in ltc homes and more than 1,200 staff have contracted the virus. both premier francois legault and doug ford have asked for the canadian armed forces’ help in assisting ltcs.at the beginning of the pandemic, langlois chose to stick with ltc work over her private care, citing “financial stability.” every other psw had to make a similar decision, choosing to work at only one ltc home to limit the potential of viral transmission.“so we have to pick one, and we’re having to deal with losing half our coworkers and not having the staff we need.” says langlois. “which is a fear for everybody as well… the only way we’re going to get overwhelmed is if people don’t take care of each other.”since our conversation, two staff members at langlois’ facility have tested positive and have been in isolation since march 23rd.the situation also has patients and their families are feeling uneasy.based in the durham region of ontario, private care psw lindsay couture has had to lay off some of her employees, as clients have been canceling due to concerns over the spread of the virus. she lives with her mom, who is immuno-suppressed after a double lung transplant, creating another understandable layer of worry. she insists, though, that she would not continue to do her job if she wasn’t confident in the safety procedures.while couture feels safe, many psws don’t. working without adequate personal protective equipment (ppe), caregivers, like everyone else, are worried for their safety — but also that of their family members.these are the kinds of questions that miranda ferrier has been fielding daily since covid-19 began.as president of the ontario personal support workers’ association (opswa) — whose 40,000 members cover ltc homes, retirement homes and private care — she advocates for proper ppe supplies and workers’ rights for personal support workers in ontario. she says psws make up 85 per cent of ltc staff in canada.opswa has been inundated with questions from psws looking for guidance on things like how to keep their family safe and what their rights as an employee are. danger pay is also a hot topic, especially in light of the lack of ppe for staff. “while we agree with them, we also know that nurses and doctors are not receiving any danger pay so it’s an interesting battle,” says ferrier.the average wage for a psw in canada is $19.50 an hour, or $38,025 a year. on april 1st, ontario health minister christine elliott stated that the province will not be raising wages for psws.

regulation questions

many of the calls to opswa have also been about ltc regulation since prevention measures and strategies tend to be different depending on the type of home.“there have been a lot of ltc homes that have been slow to respond to isolation measures, and the reason we’re getting for that is because [there are] different types of ltcs,” says ian da silva, opswa’s human resources director. “some have limited mobility rights, versus retirement homes, where each unit is a private residence. there are limits to restricting movement when you’re dealing with a condominium.”while psws can refuse to work if they feel unsafe, for some, it’s not that easy. many are fulfilling their roles as caregivers, and feel that not doing so is to abandon those in need at a time when they need care the most.“it’s about [recognizing] that we’re taking care of your loved ones when you can’t,” says langlois. “and this is a generation of people that invented the technology we’re using to help fix the pandemic, so we owe it to ourselves and to them to treat them with dignity, respect and give them as much safe care as we possibly can.”while no one wants to abandon patients in need, or a paycheque, some psws — particularly those employed not in institutions, but in clients’ homes — have an additional risk to worry about: residency in canada.currently, permanent residency is achieved after two years with a work permit, and one must be employed for that entire period. if a migrant worker is fired, the process starts over again for the next 24 months and, in many cases, they risk deportation. plus, the process for a new work permit can take up to a year. all of this makes it more difficult for caregivers to speak out against abuses they may face.“if [a personal support worker is] working for one family and that family says they no longer need you, they can’t just easily go and work for another family,” says barbara jo caruso, an immigration lawyer at the corporate immigration law firm. “the new family would have to file a labour market impact assessment for them, advertise and go through all the requirements of that program, which takes at least a couple of months if not longer.”according to a press release from the migrant rights network, there are at least 1.8 million migrants in canada, with 1.3 million study and work permit holders, and refugee claimants. about half a million people in canada are undocumented. more than 42 per cent of non-permanent residents are low-income, making them extremely vulnerable to the covid-created economic crisis.further, because of covid-19, personal landing appointments — the process through which immigrants confirm their intentions of staying in canada — have been suspended. as for a solution, caruso looks to france’s decision to extend work and study permits as well as visitor statuses, recommending that priority be given to those who need to vary their work permits, caregivers falling into this category.toronto non-profit caregivers action centre (cac), made up of current and former migrant caregivers, has been trying to help many of these workers face their uniquely difficult situation during this pandemic.“we know they’re mostly racialized women, and the work they’re doing has become very high risk and essential, and it may have not been viewed like that before this crisis,” says diana da silva, a community organizer at the centre. the cac’s pandemic duties involve coordinating with other caregiver groups across canada, getting  members to reach out to the federal government, and ultimately make it so that anyone can access financial supports like ei and cerb regardless of status.da silva says they are hearing from many caregivers whose workload has increased exponentially in the pandemic with no equivalent pay increase — an abuse they can’t speak out against for fear of the repercussions.“teacher’s work [for the kids] is now our work,” says one live-out caregiver who cares for children, adding that the extra responsibility increases the work hours in her day — hours that aren’t reflected in the pay. “even if we’re working 12 hours, we get paid for eight. i’m supposed to have a break in the middle but in reality, those breaks aren’t happening, especially when you’re taking care of kids.”da silva hopes that the pandemic will give canada an opportunity to change the way it sees migrant caregivers.“[we hope that] they’re valued for their work,” she says. “they’re not asking for special treatment, they’re simply asking for the same rights as other workers. after this pandemic, but hopefully before, we want them to have those same rights.”nsokic@postmedia.com | @sokic_